Anti-inflammatory potential of ellagic acid, gallic acid and punicalagin A&B isolated from Punica granatum

• Published in: BMC complementary and alternative medicine Vol. 17; no. 1; p. 47
• Main Authors: BenSaad, Lamees A, Kim, Kah Hwi, Quah, Chin Chew, Kim, Wee Ric, Shahimi, Mustafa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 14.01.2017; BioMed Central
• Subjects: Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - analysis; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - isolation & purification; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - pharmacology; Chemical properties; Dinoprostone - immunology; Ellagic acid; Ellagic Acid - analysis; Ellagic Acid - isolation & purification; Ellagic Acid - pharmacology; Fruit - chemistry; Gallic Acid - analysis; Gallic Acid - isolation & purification; Gallic Acid - pharmacology; Health aspects; Hydrolyzable Tannins - analysis; Hydrolyzable Tannins - isolation & purification; Hydrolyzable Tannins - pharmacology; Interleukin-6 - genetics; Interleukin-6 - immunology; Macrophages - drug effects; Macrophages - immunology; Mice; Plant Extracts - analysis; Plant Extracts - isolation & purification; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Pomegranate; Punicaceae - chemistry; RAW 264.7 Cells; Punicalagin; Cytokines; Gallic acid; Ellagic acid; Cytotoxicity; Punica granatum; Inflammation
• ISSN: 1472-6882; 1472-6882
• DOI: 10.1186/s12906-017-1555-0

Punica granatum (pomegranate), an edible fruit originating in the Middle East, has been used as a traditional medicine for treatment of pain and inflammatory conditions such as peptic ulcer. The numerous risks associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for treatment of pain and inflammation give rise to using medicinal herbs as alternative therapies. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of isolated compounds from the ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fraction of P. granatum by determination of their inhibitory effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS), stimulated nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE-2), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and cyclooxxgenase-2 (COX-2) release from RAW264.7 cells. The compounds ellagic acid, gallic acid and punicalagin A&B were isolated from EtOAc by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and further identified by mass spectrometry (MS). The inhibitory effect of ellagic acid, gallic acid and punicalagin A&B were evaluated on the production of LPS-induced NO by Griess reagent, PGE-2 and IL-6 by immunoassay kit and prostaglandin E2 competitive ELISA kit, and COX-2 by Western blotting. Ellagic acid, gallic acid and punicalagin A&B potentially inhibited LPS-induced NO, PGE-2 and IL-6 production. The results indicate that ellagic acid, gallic acid and punicalagin may be the compounds responsible for the anti-inflammatory potential of P. granatum.